Erschabek: Texas prison reform must get 'smart on people'

Focus should be more on rehabilitation, assessment in an effort to decrease recidivism rate across the state

By Jennifer Erschabek

August 24, 2016

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

The main driver of the issue of overincarceration in Texas falls squarely on the shoulders of legislators. They write laws that allow or require longer prison terms for certain types of offenses and longer percentage of sentences that must be served behind bars. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

The main driver of the issue of overincarceration in Texas falls...

As lawmakers get ready for the next legislative session, grappling with the budget is a priority.

Officials recently discussed reducing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's budget by 4 percent by targeting "layoffs of correctional officers and reducing inmate health care, meals, and prison and parole operations." Texas could do more without compromising public safety.

Jerry McGinty, a TDCJ official, recently said that "it has been projected that TDCJ inmate population is expected to remain the same over the next five years." I would argue that it is the number of people admitted to prison and how long each person must stay that directly affects the cost of the Texas prison system; the costs of correctional health care, personnel and other support add up quickly.

The main driver of the issue of over-incarceration in Texas falls squarely on the shoulders of legislators. They write laws that allow or require longer prison terms for certain types of offenses and longer percentage of sentences that must be served behind bars.

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Legislators allow prosecutorial and judicial discretion with little accountability; prosecutors and sheriffs to protest parole; and allow the parole board's use of inadequate and subjective assessment tools in determining who qualifies for parole.

As a state, Texas has increased the average length of stay for people incarcerated, according to a 2012 study conducted by the Pew Center on the States. Texans now serve 36 percent more time that those released in 1990.

Even former Gov. Rick Perry recently said there is a problem with prosecutors when the gavel of the criminal justice system falls heavier on poorer communities and communities of color. "And when it comes to prosecutors, there are clearly bad apples in the system who care more about indicting someone - anyone - than they care about convicting the right person."

And "When ambitious prosecutors go overboard, the true victims … are the people who don't have the means to fight back."

Now a report, "Crime Survivors Speak," which came out in April 2016, finds that victims of crime say they want to see shorter prison sentences, less spending on prisons and a greater focus on the rehabilitation of criminals.

The easy solution to release nonviolent drug offenders is not the only solution. There must be some proportionality of the sentence to the crime, even for violent crimes.

Currently, TDCJ has approximately 82,484 people interned who have committed violent crimes, and most are required to serve half of their sentence before parole eligibility. In reality, these people serve approximately 66 percent of their respective sentences.

Thirty-five thousand prisoners with violent offenses are eligible for parole.

Releasing these people based on a thorough assessment of rehabilitation, institutional behavior and work ethic and releasing them just one year earlier to parole, at the current cost of $54 per day to house them, would save the state $690 million a year. (There are a total of 73,166 offenders currently eligible for parole, equaling a cost of $1.44 billion per year.)

Violent crimes absolutely deserve serious punishment.

But we should not ignore or excuse irrationally harsh punishment simply because a person has done something violent.

The excessive sentences and low rate of parole for these individuals is counterproductive, costly and inhumane.

Lawmakers and government officials looking for ways to cut the budget without compromising public safety should allow prisoners to earn time toward their eligibility for parole.

All people serving time in TDCJ should receive diligent participation credit for the successful completion of an educational, vocational, substance abuse treatment or work program while confined.

This time would be included in the calculation of time needed to be eligible for a parole review and not a sentence reduction.

This solution will improve safety by incentivizing recidivism-reduction program participation and giving prisoners something to work for.

More focus and credit should be given to rehabilitation and assessment, and these men and women should be allowed to return home when they have paid the appropriate price for the crime committed.

We can intelligently reduce the sentences for violent offenses without compromising public safety.

Texas, let's not only get smart on crime, let's get "smart on people."